International Health Facility Guidelines

Version 4.2 October 2017 by TAHPI

Welcome to iHFG

This is the home of International guidelines for the planning, briefing, design & construction of healthcare facilities. These guidelines place emphasis on achieving outcomes which reflect current healthcare practice in a safe and appropriate environment at a reasonable facility cost. They represent patient focused, research based, modern and efficient planning principles.

Our Mission

Healthcare facilities need to be efficiently planned, appropriately briefed, competently designed and quickly delivered. They need to be sustainable in every respect as an essential public service. Therefore they need to carefully balance the required features and standards against capital and operational costs without compromising the quality of care. Sustainability demands that the precious knowledge of healthcare design be shared rather than wasted after every successful project. These guidelines bring that shared knowledge to the world to achieve these key objectives:

• Establish the minimum acceptable standards • Maintain public confidence in the facilities which comply with these guidelines• Provide a basis for the approval and licensing of healthcare facilities• Provide guidance to designers on the special needs of healthcare facilities• Consider the wellbeing, safety, privacy and dignity of patients, staff and visitors• Eliminate design features that result in unacceptable practices• Allow Health Authorities to require compliance with these guidelines• Provide a knowledge base to inform future healthcare design consultants

These Guidelines will be continually reviewed, updated and expanded. Readers are encouraged to provide feedback and to contribute material for future updates.

iHFG Structure

Part A – Administrative Provisions This part outlines the licensing process for healthcare facilities and prequalification process for design consultants

To learn more about the HFBS web-based Healthcare Briefing and Design Software and to obtain editable versions of the “Standard Components” including Room Data Sheets (RDS) and Room Layout Sheets (RLS) offered on this website, click here: http://www.healthdesign.com.au/infohub/

The HFBS short brochure including a description of all modules can be downloaded here: HFBS 5 modules

Get iHFG as an App on all mobile platforms

Conditions of Use

By entering this site and clicking any of the links therein, you acknowledge the following Conditions of Use: Users can view, download and use the elements in iHFG for their own projects or for others. However it is strictly against the terms of use for any element of iHFG to be replicated, reverse-engineered, adapted or used to create other Standards or Guidelines in any way similar to or for similar purposes as iHFG. The material offered on this website may not be reproduced for commercial gain as guidelines, standards, standard components, software, website(s) or for the purpose of publicity in any form directly or indirectly. The material is intended solely to inform the users and provide a guide for the design of Healthcare facilities.

Disclaimer

These guidelines are intended for reference and use by reasonably skilled and experienced professionals. They do not reduce the obligation of the designers and other users to comply with all Statutory and Legislative requirements or exercise their duty of care. Local Health Authorities and the authors of these guidelines do not accept responsibility for any consequences of the use or abuse of these guidelines. The material on this website may be changed or updated at any time without prior notice.

Copyright

The material contained in this website is offered free of copyright. Users may freely base their briefing and design work on the material provided subject to the Conditions of Use included on this page. These guidelines may be freely referenced in other guidelines, publications, reports or presentation as long as those documents are also freely offered to the public and provide the appropriate reference to these guidelines.